10th annual SCV Mayors Prayer Breakfast scheduled Thursday

The 10th annual Santa Clarita Valley Mayors Prayer Breakfast is scheduled Thursday at 7 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Valencia hotel, with Christian comedian Brad Stine as the featured speaker.

The breakfast scheduled on the National Day of Prayer has drawn controversy in the past. Early on the dispute was over the name of the event, with critics saying the breakfast appeared to be city sponsored because of “mayor” in the title.

Last year the controversy was over the keynote speaker, Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus, who critics claimed as anti-homosexual.

Dacus’s appearance drew some 50 protesters to stand outside the Hyatt for the breakfast last year, chanting and holding protest signs. Still, 315 people attended the event organized each year by The Dunamis Group, a group of businessmen who say their goal is to promote Christian values in business.

Dubbed “God’s comic,” this year’s speaker, Brad Stine, became the most media-covered Christian comedian in the country after he was profile in New Yorker Magazine in 2004. He is in the process of developing a film.

All local elected officials are specifically invited to the Santa Clarita Valley’s annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast, and community members are welcome.

Tickets for Thursday’s event, which begins at 7 a.m., are $32.50 at the door. For more information, visit http://www.scvmpb.net/.